Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Director of City Plans

SUBJECT:

Approval of Council Initiative - Proposed Hastings North BIA

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Section 456 of the Vancouver Charter gives Council the authority to create a Business Improvement Area (BIA). Council may grant money to a BIA for planning and implementation of business promotion schemes provided that the money is recovered through a special property tax.

Council policy with respect to the establishment of a BIA was approved on October 14, 1997 as follows:

A BIA may be established by Council Initiative; property owners and commercial tenants receive notification of the Initiative, and the BIA will not proceed if one-third or more of the owners representing one-third of the assessed property value, or one-third of the tenants, counted separately, are in opposition.

PURPOSE

The Hastings North BIA Organizing Committee has completed the first step in the process of establishing a new Business Improvement Area (BIA). As part of the process, the Organizing Committee has obtained agreement to reinstate the Hastings Chamber of Commerce (HCC) under the Societies Act with the intention that the HCC be the sponsor society for the BIA. The purpose of this report is to commence the second step, which is to approve the HCC as sponsor of, and to commence a Council Initiative for, the proposed Hastings North BIA, and to forward the BIA application to the Court of Revision.

BACKGROUND

The Hastings Chamber of Commerce (HCC) was first incorporated in 1940, making it one of the oldest business associations in the city. In its heyday, the HCC organized promotional events and lobbied Council on traffic, parking and other issues of importance to the business community. In the late 1980s for example, the Chamber successfully advocated for installation of a traffic light at Hastings and Kamloops. The HCC operated continuously until 1990 when it was struck from the Register of Societies. Although the members continued to meet sporadically (and at one point considered a BIA), the group has been largely inactive for the last ten years.

In October 1999, the Vancouver Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment sponsored a one-day conference at Harbour Centre, at which members of the Hastings North area were in attendance. After a presentation by the Downtown Vancouver BIA, the Hastings North participants decided to explore the idea of a BIA for their area. In February 2000, after informal meetings with property owners and businesses, the groupapproached the City with the intention of sponsoring a BIA application. They see a BIA as critical to maintaining the area's business vitality, dealing with increased break-ins and other criminal activities, and addressing the impacts of panhandling and sex trade activities.

The Hastings North BIA Organizing Committee was formed in March 2000 to actively pursue a BIA application. The Organizing Committee reports that former members of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce agreed that the HCC could be re-instated for the purpose of sponsoring the Hastings North BIA application and managing the proposed BIA. The Hastings Chamber of Commerce was restored to the Register of Societies on September 25, 2000. The intention is to change the name of the society to ‘Hastings North Business Improvement Association’ prior to Council approval of the BIA.

DISCUSSION

The proposed Hastings North BIA comprises the 12 blocks of East Hastings between Commercial Drive, on the west, and Renfrew Street, on the east, as well as the light industrial/commercial area bounded by Commercial Drive, Powell Street, Semlin Drive and Hastings. A map of the proposed boundary is attached as Appendix A.

The Organizing Committee proposes a Year 1 budget of $250,000.00, representing an annual levy rate of $1.62 per $1,000.00 of assessed property value. A copy of the proposed budget is attached for information as Appendix B.

Outreach Activities

Since March of this year, the Hastings North Organizing Committee has been actively working toward the present BIA application. In May, the Organizing Committee began conducting outreach activities to commercial tenants and property owners, and publicised the BIA proposal through flyers, public information meetings, a newsletter and a poster campaign. The proposed BIA was also the subject of an article in the July 11-17, 2000 issue of Business In Vancouver. As part of their outreach, the Organizing Committee distributed a survey to property owners and tenants. The survey, distributed in early September 2000, asked recipients to indicate whether or not they supported the BIA proposal. The Committee received back very few survey responses, mostly from supporters. Because of the low response rate, the Committee asked the City to produce individualized computer printouts showing the proposed levy for each property owner. These were mailed by the Organizing Committee in late September with a letter requesting that property owners contact the Committee if they had any objections to the levy, and to discuss the levy with their business tenants. The Committee also mounted 200 posters throughout the proposed BIA to further elicit responses from businesses. Based on the survey responses, levy mailout, postercampaign and their general outreach, the Organizing Committee believes the BIA proposal is generally supported.

The Organizing Committee formally applied to the City for consideration of a BIA on November 23, 2000. A copy of their application letter and documentation of their outreach activities is attached as Appendix C (limited distribution - on file in the Office of the City Clerk).

Staff Comments - Outreach and Support

Staff are satisfied that the Hastings North Organizing Committee has notified all property owners and tenants within the proposed BIA boundaries. Staff attended five public information meetings held in May, June and September 2000, at the Moka Café, Maritime Labour Centre and the Royal Bank at which approximately 70 people were in attendance (in total). Accounting for Organizing Committee members, some of whom attended several meetings, at least 40 non-members attended. Participants at the meetings seemed generally supportive.

The Organizing Committee’s survey was sent to the owners of 263 properties and approximately 375 business tenants within the proposed BIA. As only a small number of survey responses was received, it is impossible to draw inferences regarding the relative levels of support and opposition at this time. However, the Committee has made additional efforts to draw out potential opposition, most notably by mailing individual levy estimates to property owners. This is the first time BIA applicants have delivered material showing each property owner’s levy prior to the official Court of Revision notifications.

At the instruction of staff, the Organizing Committee’s notices contained the name and telephone number of the City’s BIA Coordinator. As of the date of this report, the Coordinator has received seven letters and one telephone message indicating property owner opposition. The Coordinator also received telephone calls from two business owners indicating opposition to the BIA. To date, the Hastings North Organizing Committee has received 3 letters of opposition (from property owners) and 3 telephone calls indicating opposition. Accounting for overlap in opposition letters/calls received by the applicant and the City, there are a total of 12 owners/businesses known to be opposed to the BIA. Based on the above, there appears to be only minimal opposition to the BIA at this stage in the process.

CONCLUSION

The Hastings North BIA Organizing Committee (under the sponsorship of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce) is requesting that Council consider approval of the proposed Hastings North BIA, and has asked that their application be forwarded by way of Council Initiative, to a Court of Revision, in order that they may commence operations as a BIA in April 2001. The results of Organizing Committee outreach activities indicate only minimal opposition at this stage in the process.

NOTE FROM CLERK: Electronic copy of Appendices A-C is not available - on file in the Office of the City Clerk.

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